


Here We Are (as in olden days)

by mizface



Category: due South
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-22
Updated: 2012-12-22
Packaged: 2017-11-21 23:37:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/603314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizface/pseuds/mizface
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ma Vecchio mentioned to Ray that she needed some things from the store, he thought it was going to be a solo trip.  But when he got to the entryway, Stella was already there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here We Are (as in olden days)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Heather](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heather/gifts).



> A multitude of thanks to my beta for their speedy and very helpful work!

When Ma Vecchio mentioned to Ray that she needed some things from the store, he jumped on the chance to get out of the house for a few minutes. He loved the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but a houseful of Vecchios was all the craziness of Christmas in one little house - it got overwhelming. A quick glance over showed Fraser and Vecchio deep in conversation, but not so deep that Fraser didn’t look up, like he’d felt Ray watching him.

Fraser smiled, and Ray couldn’t help but return it. When Ray tilted his head toward the door, waving the list Ma had given him, Fraser nodded, then looked pointedly at the sweater Ray had left on the back of the chair. Ray rolled his eyes, but went to grab it. Fraser smiled again, satisfied, then turned his attention back to Vecchio.

Ray thought it was going to be a solo trip, but when he got to the entryway Stella was already there, coat already on, tugging on her snowboots. She turned toward him as he entered, surprise quickly covered by a quirk of her eyebrow and a look that he recognized as half question, half challenge.

“Guess it’s you and me, Stell,” he said with a wink as he reached for his jacket.

“That’s all you’re wearing?” she asked as she wrapped a scarf around her neck.

“Hey, I put my sweater back on, too,” he protested, pointing at the dark green pullover. He went to the door and held it open for her, with an exaggerated bow. “After you.”

Stella rolled her eyes and huffed a little laugh.

They hadn’t been walking long before Stella bunched in on herself, obviously still cold despite the heavy coat, scarf and gloves. Ray thought about offering to put his arm around her, just to warm her up, but didn’t think she’d take it the right way. He sighed inwardly, wishing things could be less awkward between them. 

“How are you not freezing?” she asked, glaring at Ray and pointing a finger toward his unzipped jacket. “Or are you just doing some bullshit macho guy thing?”

“I’m not that cold,” Ray laughed. “Trust me, after a year plus in Canada, I know what winter’s _really_ like. This,” he said with a sweep of his arm, “isn’t even in the running.”

She shivered and pulled her coat tighter. “Give me Florida winters any day, then.”

Ray tensed at the words, waiting for more, but that was all she said. No little slights, no digs to let him know that choosing Florida meant doing better than she would have with him. She was happy where she was for herself, not to spite him. Not that Stella would have married Vecchio just to get back at Ray for anything, but still… it was nice to see.

And he could _tell_ she was happy. He’d seen it back at the house, the way she and Vecchio fit, in a way she and Ray never really had. Even in the dim light of the street lamps she nearly glowed, cheeks rosy with the cold, her skin a healthy light tan. She looked good – more the golden girl he called her than she ever was in Chicago.

He must have been giving her a strange look. “What?” she asked.

“Florida looks good on you, Stell,” he told her, meaning it. “You must really like it there.”

She waited a few seconds before answering, and he knew the hesitation was her weighing his words like he’d just done with hers. But he was genuinely happy for her, and she smiled softly as she figured it out. “I do. Law is law everywhere you go – why not be somewhere warm, right? And I do well enough that Ray can play at owning the bowling alley without worrying too much over whether or not it makes a profit.”

“I still can’t believe Vecchio’s running a bowling alley,” Ray chuckled. 

“He needed a change,” she said quietly, and Ray sobered at that. He could totally understand that, and he’d never had as long or hard an undercover gig as Vecchio had as the Bookman.

They walked the rest of the short way to the store in silence. It was Stella who started the conversation again once they were inside.

“You’re looking good, too,” Stella told him as she got a half-cart from the corral. “Maybe a little too thin, but… more settled. More centered.”

“I like it well enough,” he agreed. “But lay off on the skinny stuff, at least around Ma. She’s already treating me like I haven’t eaten in a month.”

“Better you than me,” Stella replied. “I swear that woman’s goal is to make sure none of my clothes fit.”

“And yet here we are, buying her more food,” Ray said as they walked.

Stella gave him a considering look, and he wondered what she was going to say. “I’m surprised you wanted out of there. All those kids around – seems like your kind of thing.”

There were several unspoken questions there. “It was getting a little loud and crowded,” he admitted. “I guess I’ve gotten used to a quieter life. Not that they aren’t great in small doses-”

“But there’s nothing small about Vecchio family get-togethers,” Stella finished. “Believe me, I know.” She paused. “Fraser seemed okay.”

“Fraser is a freak of nature, and what he can or cannot deal with doesn’t count,” Ray told her all too seriously, and he could see her fighting a smile. “Besides, he was basking in your husband’s attention when we left. He’d put up with a lot to get to spend time with Vecchio.”

“That bother you?” she asked, and he knew that too-casual tone.

“Nope,” he replied easily. “Fraser’s allowed to have friends, and it isn’t like I have much family to share with him. Ma and the rest adopted him in long before I was part of the picture. No way am I gonna do something stupid like get in the way of it.” Ray decided it was his turn for a question. “Is us being here together going to bug Vecchio?”

“No,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Ray is not going to worry about you and me at the grocery store. He knows better than to be jealous. Why, do you think it will bother Fraser?”

“Probably,” Ray sighed. “But not for the reason you’re thinking.” He thought for a minute, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted without pissing her off. “You didn’t make the best impression on him back in the day.”

Stella stopped, crossing her arms over her chest, and Ray held up his hands. “Hey, not saying it was all your fault or anything. I get that I didn’t help the situation. But still… he remembers that stuff, you know? And he’s really protective of the people he cares about.”

“But he’s fine with me now,” she pointed out.

Ray nodded. “He sees that you’re good with Vecchio. Good _for_ him. That counts for a lot.”

“I guess I understand that,” she sighed. “It’s pretty much the same as how I feel about him. Between Ray’s glowing endorsement, and the fact that he obviously makes you happy, I can pretty much look past the part where he kept putting you in crazy danger back then.”

“ _That’s_ why you had a problem with him?”

“Partly, yes,” she said, looking at him like she couldn’t believe he was surprised. “He didn’t seem safe to be around, and you didn’t seem to care. It worried me.”

That was news to Ray. “And you decided to show your concern by putting me down whenever you saw us?” 

“What was I supposed to do?” she asked, frustration clear. “You were pushing so hard you made it impossible to be nice to you.”

He snorted. “I don’t know, how about actually talking to me? Pushy or not, I would have listened. You know that.” Ray took a deep breath and turned toward the row of food to keep from saying more. There was no point in arguing – what was done was done. He could feel her eyes on him, but ignored it and finally she moved closer to help him look.

“How hard is it to pick out olives?” Stella asked, a hint of annoyance in her tone as she reached for a jar. 

Ray stopped her, a gentle hand on her arm. “Not that kind,” he told her. 

“You know what brand of olives Ma Vecchio likes best?”

He held in a sigh. “Yeah, and they don’t have them here. Have to be special ordered in from Italy. But the place she gets them from is closed down for the holidays, so she’ll have to make do. But not with those,” he said, nodding toward the jar she’d chosen. “Too salty for her liking.”

Stella gave him a long look, and Ray had to stop himself from rubbing his neck or ducking his head. “I had to spend time with the family, maintain the cover,” he finally told her. “Sometimes she needed something from the store, and I’d go. No big deal.”

Stella nodded and pulled back her hand. “Ma really missed you last year,” she remarked. 

Ray took the statement as the peace offering it was. “It made sense not to come,” he shrugged, focusing on finding the right brand.

“You would have been welcome,” Stella went on.

Ray paused mid-reach and tilted his head to give her a sidelong glance. “It was too soon,” he said, grabbing a jar. “The last thing Vecchio needed on his first Christmas back home was a living, breathing reminder of the ones he missed.”

“You stayed away for Ray?” Stella asked, surprise and skepticism lacing her words.

“And for me. And you.” He looked up at her after putting the olives in the cart. “We all needed time to adjust. You gotta admit there were a lot of changes going on last year.”

Stella gave him a wry grin. “I guess there were.”

They walked along a few more rows, gathering one item or another. When they got to the wine, Ray moved aside.

“This one’s all yours,” he said with a nod. “I have no idea what’s good.”

“Still more of a beer drinker?” 

“Simple man, simple tastes,” he replied.

Stella shook her head. “You are many things, Stanley Raymond Kowalski, but simple is not one of them.” She nudged him as he started to frown. “Hey, stop with the face. It was meant as a compliment. Well… mostly as one,” she amended with a grin.

He nudged back and she laughed. A real honest laugh like he hadn’t heard from her in forever. He grinned at her, but didn’t say anything, not wanting to ruin the moment.

They chatted as they finished making the rounds through the store, the conversation easy in a way it hadn’t been in years. It felt familiar, in a long-forgotten happy memory kind of way. He smiled, glad they could have this, be this way around each other again, even if it was only for tonight. He’d missed Stella. Not as a wife, not anymore, but as the friend she’d been to him long before vows had ever been exchanged. 

When they got back to the house, still talking, Ma shooed them toward the kitchen with a mock-stern frown, chiding them for taking so long. But Ray caught the satisfied look on her face as she turned away, and realized that maybe there’d been an ulterior motive behind this trip in the first place. 

He grinned as he followed Stella to put away the groceries. Sneaky woman, that Ma Vecchio.


End file.
